Mayor Mitch Landrieu has asked the New Orleans City Council to move three prominent statues of Confederate figures and an obelisk often called the white supremacy monument, and possibly to replace them with symbols befitting the city’s dreams.
The Associated Press reports all seven council members sponsored a motion today to begin the 60-day process of hearings and proposals. The six present all voted in favor of it.
The obelisk originally commemorated White League members who battled city police in 1874, killing 11 black officers. In 1993, white supremacy inscriptions were replaced with a plaque honoring the dead on both sides.
The statues are of Gens. Robert E. Lee and P.G.T. Beauregard, and Confederate President Jefferson Davis.
Landrieu also suggested renaming Jefferson Davis Parkway after Norman Francis, the first black president of historically black Xavier University. His request comes a day after South Carolina lawmakers passed a bill to remove the Confederate flag from its Capitol. The flag will be pulled down from the Capitol’s front lawn during a ceremony at 10 a.m. Friday, Chaney Adams, a spokeswoman for Republican Gov. Nikki Haley, tells The Associated Press. Then, the banner will be taken to the Confederate Relic Room for display.
Haley will sign the bill—which passed the state House early Thursday after 13 hours of debate—at 4 p.m. today. The measure requires that the flag come down within 24 hours of her signature.
